The Promise of Love
by Mrs. Ootori
Summary: Adelaide Smith is very mature for her age; she has been forced to grow up faster than the typical child. But with her father's latest business deal, comes the chance to be herself and the promise of love. I stink at writing summaries. KyoyaxOC
1. Strange Behavior

**My first Ouran High School Host Club fanfic! Just so that everyone knows, I have only seen the anime; I have never read the manga.**

**My three main OCs are based heavily off of my two best friends (Lady Bec of Imaginland and Lady of Denial) and I. So everything they say and do is based off of the three of us, and almost everything (no matter how crazy or random it may seem) has happened in real life. **

**Sorry I know it's kind of short.**

**Please review! :D**

**I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, just my OC's. **

**Chapter 1 - Strange behavior**

"The host club opens in five minutes, where is Kyoya," a very distraught Tamaki demanded of his fellow hosts.

"Don't you all have work to do," came the calm response from the door of music room three. The shadow king was leaning against the frame of he door in his school uniform, the usual black folder and pen in his hand.

"Mother! Where have you been? Daddy was worried sick," the host club's king shouted from his "throne" where he had been sitting, nervously fidgeting, like a father whose daughter is out on her first date and is waiting for her to get home.

"Why? You had no reason to be worried, we just saw each other in class twenty minutes ago," Kyoya retorted, using his index finger to adjust his glasses.

"What business," Kaoru began, "Could you have had that was so urgent?" Hikaru finished.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but the girls could start arriving any moment," a moderately annoyed Haruhi interjected.

"Haru-chan is right!" Honey said cheerfully from his seat at the dessert table, "We need to get into our positions. Right Takashi?"

With a silent nod from Mori, the hosts moved into their positions. Within thirty seconds, the doors flew open and a flood of screaming fan-girls rushed trough.

On her walk home, Haruhi tried to think about when Kyoya's strange behavior had begun. There had been that morning a couple weeks ago, when Kyoya had arrived at school with a red mark on the side of his face. Then the past few days he had seemed distracted and grumpy, today had certainly been the event that convinced her, this couldn't be a coincidence. Kyoya had never been late for the club before. What could be causing his strange behavior?

Hikaru and Kaoru had gone out to dinner with their parents. This was one of the rare occasions when they actually spent time with their parents because of their busy schedules. However, almost as soon as they had been seated at their usual corner table, both their parent's cell phones rang and they had excused themselves with the usual, "It will only take a moment," and, "We'll be right back boys."

That had been forty-five minutes ago, and the boys had fallen into their usual routine. They ordered their food, and their parent's usual. They were talking about their plans to torment some poor, unsuspecting classmate while they ate.

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" They turned around in their seats, behind them stood a smiling Tamaki. They talked for a few minutes during which they talked about their upcoming plans for the host club and their plans for the upcoming summer vacation. Tamaki explained that he was there with his grandmother, but he had excused himself to say hello and was grateful to them for an excuse to get away from her. Tamaki glanced across the restaurant at his grandmother, who was talking with an older woman that he assumed was a friend of hers. "I suppose that I better head back to my own table now," Tamaki said with a small sigh.

"Before you do, we have something to discuss," a voice from the dark corner said quietly, almost in a whisper. Stepping slightly into the light, Nekozawa stood before them in his usual dark wig and cloak.

The three boys eyes widened, "What are you talking about?" Hikaru replied, trying to sound un-intimidated.

"I know I am not the only one who has noticed Kyoya Ootori's strange behavior," Nekozawa replied with a smirk, "and I have discovered that this behavior has something to do with his father."

"H... How do you know that?" Tamaki asked as he began to recover.

"I forgot my math book, when I went back after class, I saw Kyoya out by the front gate arguing with his father. When the argument was over Kyoya seemed to give in to whatever his father had said, he looked defeated."

"Come in Adelaide," Her father's voice came from behind the closed door of his study.

At sixteen, Adelaide Smith was very mature for her age; she had been forced to grow up faster than the typical child. She was tall, and had curly blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Unlike her two brothers and her sister, who looked like their father, she took after their mother.

Although she had lived in Japan since she was very young, she had been born in the United States. Her father, a wealthy business man, had decided to move his family and company to Japan after her mother died.

As Adelaide pushed the door open, it creaked softly. Inside her father sat at his desk, reading a black file. He was a thin man, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a Dark Blue suit, a light blue shirt, and a black tie. Although he smiled as he looked up, it sent a shiver down her spine.

Out of habit, she glanced at the pictures on the wall above her father's head. The picture in the center was of a beautiful blonde woman with gorgeous blue-green eyes the color of the ocean, her mother. She looked tired, and there where bags under her eyes. She had her arms around two little girls who were sitting on their knees in front of her. On the right, the three year old version of her was wearing a green sun dress and her curly blonde hair was bulled up in pig-tails. On the left, her older sister Samantha, who was four at the time, was wearing an almost identical sundress that was blue. Her wavy brown hair was also fixed in pig-tails. Their mother was smiling happily down at the two of them. That day was one of the few memories she had of her mother. It had been taken at a picnic in the park a month and a half before her mother's death.

To the left of this picture, was one of her father and brothers, taken on the same day. Although at first glance, it appeared that her father had his trademark frown on, if you looked closely, you could see a small smile. His eyes where caring and he was looking lovingly at Adelaide's mother, who was taking the picture. He looked exhausted, most likely from all the long, sleepless nights spent up with his ill wife. When she died, it was like the person in the picture died too, and was replaced with a cold, heartless shell of a man, whose only focus in life was furthering his business.

On his left was her oldest brother, Maximilian, who was ten when the picture was taken. On his right stood John Paul, who was eight when the picture was taken. The boys had mischievous smirks on their faces. Seconds after that picture was taken, they had pulled out a bucket of water balloons and soaked their two sisters.

Both boys where in medical school, although they where there for very different reasons. Max was there because he knew that was what their father wanted and what was expected of him as the heir. John Paul, on the other hand, was there because he wanted to become a doctor to help people. He had been there, helplessly watching while their mother slowly deteriorated, and he had vowed to become a doctor to find a cure so that no child would ever have to go through what he did.

While she and Max, their father's favorite and heir, had never seen eye to eye. She had always been close to John Paul and Samantha, but and Sam had always had a special bond. They where only eleven months apart, but they acted like twins, they seemed like they were always together and often finished each-other's sentences.

The final of the three pictures, on the right of the one of her and her sister and mother, was the newest addition to the group of pictures. In the center was a woman with medium length brown hair with big chunky blonde highlights. She had brown eyes and a piercing stare that made Adelaide's blood run cold. She had perfectly manicured nails and perfectly done makeup. She was very thin, almost to the point of looking frail. She was wearing a plain black dress with a long string of pearls and strappy black high heels. She was sitting in a gold framed chair with cushion made of red velvet.

Behind her on the left stood a girl who looked like she was in her late teens. She had curly hair that had been dyed Burgundy and big green eyes. On the right stood a boy who looked like he was in his early teens. He had short, spiky brown hair and brown eyes.

This picture was of her father's fiancée, Pamela, and her two children. Adelaide had lost track of how many "mothers" she had acquired over the years, but she was fairly certain that this one would be wife number five. The wedding was in three weeks, and she was expected to be a brides-maid.

She had not yet met her prospective step siblings but she was sure that they would join the list of step siblings that hated her and made her life miserable. The girl, Kyra, was eighteen and a third year in high school. The boy, Brian, was fourteen and a third year in middle school.

"Adelaide?"

The stern question pulled her back to reality and her focus back to her father. He had pulled out a large blown up photo out of the black folder he had been reading and was holding it out to her. He had also closed the file and set it on the desk so that she could reach it. She picked them both up and began to examine the photo, "He is the one with the glasses," her father explained and then began to sort through some papers on his desk.

The photo was obviously taken using a hidden camera. It was of two boys standing and talking in a court yard, with a fountain in the middle. One boy had blonde hair and the most unusual purple eyes, the other was thin and had jet black hair. The second boy wore a pair of thin framed black glasses. She opened the black file and stuck the photo in one of the pockets that held a collection of other photos. The other pocket held a stack of papers that were stapled together, with a top sheet that read family and friends.

"That should be everything that you need to know," her father stated coldly before adding, "You and your sister will begin classes at Ouran Academy on Monday."

"Yes father," she said closing the file and turning to leave the room.

"And Adelaide," she froze where she stood and waited for him to continue, "This arrangement is very important, don't screw it up."

She knew that she wasn't expected to answer this, so she continued out of the room and down the hall. She walked into her room and sat on the end of her bed. She opened the file and took the picture out again. She looked at the dark haired boy in the picture in front of her. As much as having no decision in the matter killed her, she wasn't going to screw this up. If that's what it took to finally make her father proud, she wasn't going to mess this up.


	2. First Impressions

**I do not, never have, and never will own Ouran High School Host Club. :(**

**Please review!**

**Chapter 2 - First Impressions**

As the black limousine pulled up in front of Ouran Academy, Adelaide could feel her heart begin to race. Changing to a new school was always hard, but changing to a new school where you had a job to do in addition to being a student was worse.

She had spent the entire weekend memorizing the contents of the black file her father had given her, but she still had it with her, in case of emergency. She flipped it open, and looked down at the picture. She had to find a way to make this work. She was sure that he was just as thrilled with the situation as she was, but they had both swallowed their pride and agreed for the sake of pleasing their fathers. At least that was one thing they had in common. The car began to slow, and out the window, she could see the school's front gate.

She gently smoothed out the wrinkles in her frilly yellow school uniform. She looked at her long dark blonde spiral curls in the mirror, and tucked her hair on the right side of her part behind her ear. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down.

"Ready?"

Adelaide looked up at her sister who was sitting in the seat across from her, also wearing the yellow school uniform. In all of her nervousness she had almost forgotten that her sister was with her. Unlike Adelaide, her older sister Rebecca had medium length wavy dark brown hair. She was a good six inches shorter than Adelaide, the only attribute that she inherited from their mother.

Adelaide put on the fake smile that she had perfected over the years, and nodded to her sister. She knew that the only reason that her sister had been forced to transfer during her third and final year, was because their father wanted someone to keep an eye on her. Although, anyone that knew the two sisters' knew, that it would be Adelaide keeping an eye on Sam.

"Don't you lie to me Addie!" Her sister said sternly, using her nick name. The two girls sat their, eyes locked in a staring contest for a few seconds, before they broke into hysterical laughter. "Don't worry, big sis is here for you," she added after they stopped laughing.

Then the door of the limo was opened, and the two girls smiled at each other and took a deep breath in unison, before stepping out. They slung their bags over their shoulders and began to walk toward the entrance. They were both scanning the crowd subconsciously as they walked, but their scan yielded no results. Once inside, they quickly located the office and picked up their schedules.

"I'll meet you at lunch," Adelaide said over her shoulder as she set out in search of the second year class rooms. _You can do this_, she repeated to herself as she walked.

She had looked down at her schedule for a few seconds, to double check the room number, when she felt herself bump into someone. All the papers in both their hands flew into the air and then rained down round them. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she said as she quickly bent down to pick up the papers.

She saw the other person drop to their knees out of the corner of her eye. A hand reached out and gently pulled her chin up so that she was looking at the person she had bumped into. "There is no need to apologize my princess," the soothing voice came from a tall blonde boy, who looked very familiar. It wasn't until her eyes met his and she noticed their unique coloring that she realized who he was. Her mind flashed to the photo in the black file. She blushed and turned away, quickly gathering the rest of her papers and then helping him gather his.

They stood up, and with a smile, she turned and said, "I'm Adelaide Smith, I just transferred here."

"Tamaki Suoh at your service princess," he replied with a warm smile, "I know it can be intimidating being in a new school, might I offer to escort you to your class?" He added extending his hand.

She took it, and she felt herself blush again. "Thank you! I'm in class 2A," she replied, grateful for the help.

"Wonderful!" He said in an over dramatic way that made her smile, a real smile this time, "I'm headed to the same class!" He added as if he had just discovered that she was his long lost sister.

With that, they walked down the hallway, until they reached the class room. Adelaide couldn't help but notice that almost every girl they passes either look longingly at Tamaki or glared at her.

"Here we are my princess," Tamaki stated, oblivious to the group of girls that where still glaring at Adelaide. He stood to the side of the door and held it open for her. She walked in, and quickly scanned the room for an open desk, but before she picked one, Tamaki took her hand and lead her to one toward the back of the room. She smiled to thank him, and began to sit down. Tamaki leaned forward and tapped the boy in front of him on the shoulder. The boy turned around, and it was all she could do to keep herself from gasping. "Adelaide Smith, this is my friend Kyoya Ootori. Adelaide and I met when we bumped into each other in the hall."

Kyoya put on his best fake smile and then replied, "It is a pleasure to meet you Smith-san."

She had thought of so many things to say when they met for the first time, but now that the moment was here, all she could think to say was, "and you Ootori-san," adding her best fake smile to match his.

On the other side of the school, Sam was wandering around looking for her class. She was beginning to think that she was never going to find it, when a voice came from the shadows that made her nearly have a heart attack. "You look lost," The voice said flatly.

She turned and saw a boy with long brown hair, wearing a long brown cloak. "I am," she said with a smile, "I just transferred here and I have no idea where my class is."

"What class are you in?" the boy asked taking a half step into the light, and shielding his eyes.

"3A," she replied, before adding, "I'm Samantha, Samantha Smith, but I don't like it when people call me that, so you can call me Sam or Sam Zala, it doesn't really matter" She smiled and stuck her hand out.

"Zala, as in Authren Zala from Gundam Seed?" He said with a look of "this girl is even weirder than I am," plastered all over his face. He smiled and shook her hand, "And I'm Uhuri Nekozowa."

"Yes, I'm going to marry him some day, and that will be my name, so I might as well start having people get used to it now," She said, adding another smile, "It's nice to meet you Nekozowa-san!"

"It's nice to meet you too; 3A is three doors down, on your right." With that, the bell rang and they headed in their separate directions.

Morning classes seamed to fly by, and before Adelaide knew it, it was time for lunch. She put her things into her bag and stood up.

"Do you already have someone to sit with at lunch Adelaide?" Tamaki asked politely.

"I'm supposed to meet my sister for lunch."

"Well then, you can both sit with us," he replied, before she could object, he offered her his arm.

"Thank You," She said with a small sigh, but she quickly caught herself and she shot him a fake smile and took his arm.

When they walked into the cafeteria, a pair of identical red heads and a shorter boy with brown hair waved to them. They grabbed their food and walked over to the three. On closer inspection, the brown haired boy looked like a girl, but was wearing the boy's uniform, so Adelaide was unsure. They all walked over to a table where two other boys where sitting. The first boy was tall and had short black hair. The other boy was blonde and looked like he should be in elementary school, he was even clinging to pink stuffed bunny, but he was also wearing the high school boys uniform.

"Everyone," Tamaki announced grandly, "This is Adelaide Smith; she's new to Ouran Academy. Let's see, you've already met Kyoya, this is Harahi Fujioka," he said indicating the one with brown hair, who Adelaide had now decided was defiantly a girl. "And these are the Hitachin twins," He added pointing to the red heads.

"I'm Hikaru," one added, "And I'm Kaoru," the other finished. Adelaide quickly noted that Hikaru's voice was a slightly different from Koaru's. That might help her tell them apart.

"And this is Honey-sempi," Tamaki continued quickly, indicating the short blonde, "And his cousin Mori-sempi," He finished, pointing to the boy with short black hair.

"It's nice to meet you all," Adelaide said with another fake smile, "You can call me Addie," She added quickly. Just then she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Sam standing behind her with her tray of food. "Hi," She said, and then turning back to the group, added, "Everyone this is my sister Samantha."

Everyone introduced themselves to Sam and then they all took their seats around the table. "You guys can call me Sam," she put in with a smile before repeating her speech about being called Sam Zala.

They sat and talked and laughed while they ate, except for Mori who didn't seem to talk much and Kyoya who just sat and studied her. She was grateful for the information in all of their profiles that she had been given; it helped her to start up conversations easily.

Once they had finished lunch, Adelaide looked at the clock, they still had half an hour before afternoon classes began. She really wanted to talk to Sam, so she started to stand up, "Since this is our first day, Sam and I wanted to look around a bit before afternoon classes," she said giving her sister a sideways glance. Her sister quickly picked up on her hint and stood up too.

"Ok, you should really stop by the Host club after school, it's in music room three," Kaoru, who was sitting next to her, said as he stood up. He took her hand, and pulled her closer to him, "We would really love to see you two there," He added as Hikaru did the same to Sam, who quickly pulled her hand away and shot back a glare that made him take a step back.

"Thanks for the invitation Kaoru, we'll see how the rest of today goes," She added as she reclaimed her hand, and she and Sam picked up their trays and walked away.

The twins sat down, and where about to start a new conversation, when they both froze and looked at each other.

"What's wrong Hika-chan and Kao-chan?" A worried Honey asked.

They looked back at Honey in disbelief, "She called me Koaru," Koaru began, "She was able to tell us apart." Hikaru finished.

Once they were out of the cafeteria Adelaide took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

"Come on Addie, let's go outside and take a walk, you can tell me all about it," Sam said as she put her hand on her sister's shoulder.

Adelaide nodded, and they walked toward the door to the garden. As they walked through the halls, Sam recounted the tale of her "knight in shining armor".

Once they were outside they found a secluded part of the garden with a stone bench. They sat down and Adelaide told about her own experiences this morning and her first meeting with the infamous Kyoya Ootori.

"And that's all he said, just 'It's a pleasure to meet you'?" Sam said angrily.

"Yep, that's it," Adelaide said with her elbow propped on her knee and her head resting in her hand.

Just then the bell rang, and the two girls started back into the school. Before they split up to head to their separate classes, Sam turned and gave her sister that smile that anyone close to her knew meant that she was planning something. "I'll see you after school; I want to check out the Host Club, no arguing!"

"We'll see," Adelaide said rolling her eyes, "I'll think about it."

**Yay! Chapter 2!**

**Thanks to everyone who has read my story, commented, and story alerted it. Please comment, tell me what you think, I always appreciate hearing constructive criticism and my reader's ideas!**

**Comments From last chapter:**

**.razy – Thank you! I am enjoying writing it! J**

**Lady Bec of Imagineland – Yes, I'm happy I finally got it up too! I plan to update every week, but if I go too long without updating (and this goes for everyone) don't be afraid to yell at me! Sometimes I get discouraged and start to think that no one reads my stories. **

**Until next week, thank you all for reading!**


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